Breakdown of Se aprivano le finestre, la ressa non era così soffocante.
essere
to be
non
not
la finestra
the window
aprire
to open
Questions & Answers about Se aprivano le finestre, la ressa non era così soffocante.
Why is aprivano used here instead of the pluperfect subjunctive avessero aperto?
In everyday spoken Italian, it is very common to use the imperfect indicative (aprivano) instead of the pluperfect subjunctive (avessero aperto) to talk about unreal situations in the past. This is known as the imperfetto ipotetico (hypothetical imperfect). It makes the sentence less formal but means exactly the same thing: 'If they had opened'.
Does non era replace the past conditional here?
Yes! Just like in the 'if' clause, the imperfect indicative (era) steps in for the past conditional (sarebbe stata). So instead of saying la ressa non sarebbe stata così soffocante (the crush wouldn't have been so suffocating), spoken Italian often simplifies both halves of the sentence to the imperfect tense.
What exactly is a ressa, and how is it different from folla?
How do I know this sentence means 'If they had opened' rather than 'Whenever they opened'?
Context is everything. Because the imperfect is used for both past habits and the informal hypothetical, this sentence could technically mean 'Whenever they opened the windows, the crush wasn't so suffocating' (past habit). However, native speakers use this structure so often for unreal past conditions that the surrounding conversation will make it obvious you are talking about a specific missed opportunity rather than a routine.